I am so pleased of the squad, even though we missed Matt Henry in the final: Mitchell Santner

After losing to India by four wickets in the Champions Trophy 2025 final on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Mitchell Santner, the captain of New Zealand, lamented the loss of pacer Matt Henry.

With 10 wickets from four games at an average of 16.70, Henry finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker. He was supposed to be a major player in the championship game, but he didn’t pass a pregame fitness test. Henry was unable to recover in time for the summit match after hurting his shoulder after a catch against South Africa in the semi-final.

“As we’ve seen, he is a fantastic bowler and was the top wicket-taker heading into this match. “I guess we missed that today,” Santner said at the press conference following the game. “He seems to be able to nip it on wickets that don’t look like they should nip.”

“I sympathise with Matty. He appears to be rather upset, and he is a huge team player. We essentially said, “Let’s do it for him.” It must have been difficult for him and, I suppose, for us to get this far and then get hurt for the main event. He made every effort to prepare for this game, but regrettably for us, he fell short,” he continued.

When it came to their Champions Trophy campaign, New Zealand had a difficult timetable. They were the only team to compete in the eight-team tournament at all four of the locations. India, meanwhile, used the Dubai International Cricket Stadium for all five of their matches.

It was excellent how Rachin returned right away after being knocked in the head: Mitchell Santner

In the Pakistani tri-series that preceded the Champions Trophy, Rachin Ravindra, the Player of the Tournament, also suffered a forehead injury while trying to make a catch in the outfield. Lockie Ferguson, who was hurt while playing in the ILT20, was replaced at the last minute by Kyle Jamieson.

Given how quickly games are played in these competitions, I suppose nothing will ever go exactly as planned. What’s most pleasing, in my opinion, is that various men stepped forward when given the chance. The captain of New Zealand went on, “I am so proud of the team.

“Due to injuries, certain players came and went. It was amazing how Rachin immediately recovered from his head knock and ran to the ground. Additionally, Santner said, “I thought Kyle Jamieson bowled really well in the games he played. He came flying over and straight into the team.”